Daddy Eddie's Roast Pork (Pernil), Puerto Rican-Style

This pernil recipe makes the most tender marinated pork shoulder seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and vinegar for a traditional Puerto Rican dish.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 4 hr
• Total Time: 4 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 355 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon salt
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 10 cloves garlic, or more to taste
• 5 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

Step 2

Combine garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, and black pepper in a mortar and pestle; mash into a paste.

Step 3

Cut deep slits into pork with a small knife. Stuff slits with garlic paste; rub any remaining paste over pork.

Step 4

Place pork in a plastic roasting bag and put in a roasting pan with a rack. Let marinate in the refrigerator, 8 to 48 hours.

Step 5

Take pork out of the refrigerator, uncover, and bring to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.

Step 6

Roast pork skin-side down in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 2 hours. Flip pork and continue roasting, skin-side up, until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), 2 to 4 hours more.